My 14 year old son says his LM Prestige MP does not have enough pop, spin and feel. I think at 5'6" he doesn't have a big enough swing for this 18 x 20 racquet. He has since gone back to his old racquet, the Wilson 7.1 Zone, which has been a great stick for him. He is waiting for demo's of the Prince O3 Tour and the Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II from the reps. He says that the Volkl Tour 10 MP V-engine had too much power for him. For background, he is an all-court attack player who likes to serve & volley 25% of the time. He is top 50 in the USTA National singles rankings and top 10 in doubles. He's #1 in his section. With the plethora of racquets out there, can you racquet addicts help him narrow the field of racquets to demo? Thanks. He initially liked the Flexpoint Radical but after playing with it for another hour, he felt that it didn't have enough control for his all court game.
Help find a new racquet for my tournament playing son?
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Power Game
Professional
The strings can make alot of difference especially for "pop", he is using ALU power correct? Try a softer string...After all the racquets i've tried i'm almost convinced that spin is not affected by the string pattern, Although i'd love to try the wilson ncode open vs dense and find out for sure.
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
Has he tried this Volkl? http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageRCVOLKL-T10V.html
Bora
Semi-Pro
How about the Instinct or the Instinct Tour XL? Also, the RDX500 MP might be another one worth demo. I also think that the feel is affected largely by strings, since when I play with my LM Prestige MP, I can feel the ball quite better than many other racquets I played with before. I string with NG hybrid, which does help.
Marius_Hancu
Talk Tennis Guru
Ronaldo said:
why don't I have money for all the rackets I want to buy, like this one? already have too many, anyway:-[
aj_m2009
Professional
He might want to try the PS Tour 95 also. I found this racquet is really good from anywhere on the court but especially at net. I am only 13(but a bit taller than your son) and I can get pretty good power when I set up properly. And I second demoing the RDX500 MP, it was good from all over too.
Marius_Hancu
Talk Tennis Guru
edge said:
Guess 16x19 patterns would provide more spin.
I'd recommend multis, give up on harsh polys like Luxilon, if he wants to have a long career. His tendons are tender and unprotected by too much muscle at this age, can be easily damaged. Take a health-first approach to things.
Also, that would help in terms of feel and pop.
erik-the-red
Semi-Pro
Seems like your son is very advanced! Please give him my congratulations. I'm fifteen and I'm no where near his level 
If you ask me, there's nothing wrong with the Prestige. Nice heft behind it, head light balance, and flexy. Try lowering the string tension or adding some lead tape.
If he's just flat out wants another racquet, try the Instinct. Agassi's using it right now to GET MORE POWER on slow, red clay
If you ask me, there's nothing wrong with the Prestige. Nice heft behind it, head light balance, and flexy. Try lowering the string tension or adding some lead tape.
If he's just flat out wants another racquet, try the Instinct. Agassi's using it right now to GET MORE POWER on slow, red clay
Being that he's an attacker, he needs a control racquet so with the wider beams like the Instinct, the ball flies on him. Most pros work with one racquet line rather than all racquets so they are limited to their biases. He may try a hybrid for the LM Prestige with ALU mains and NXT crosses for more feel. He says he has more pop, control and feel with the 7.1 Zone over the LM Prestige (53 lbs.) with all ALU in both. He's going to demo the Volkl 10 Gen II this weekend. The Prince O3 Tour should arrive next week. Thanks.
And the winner is...
He's switching to the Prince O3 Tour. He gets more pop, more spin from this racquet. Most notably, his volleys are deadly and his 2nd serve have more kick and control. Marius, he strings the BB ALU at a very low 53 lbs. so it doesn't give him any are troubles. If it ever does, we will use a blend for the crosses. Does anyone want to buy this old Wilson 7.1 Zone racquets at $60 shipped apiece. He has 4 strung with 4 1/4 grips. I think I will keep his LM Prestige MP for myself. It's a fine racquet and I am hitting well with it. Thanks, all.
He's switching to the Prince O3 Tour. He gets more pop, more spin from this racquet. Most notably, his volleys are deadly and his 2nd serve have more kick and control. Marius, he strings the BB ALU at a very low 53 lbs. so it doesn't give him any are troubles. If it ever does, we will use a blend for the crosses. Does anyone want to buy this old Wilson 7.1 Zone racquets at $60 shipped apiece. He has 4 strung with 4 1/4 grips. I think I will keep his LM Prestige MP for myself. It's a fine racquet and I am hitting well with it. Thanks, all.
doriancito
Hall of Fame
maybe he is more for babolat pro team!
Head Pro Tour 280 would certainly provide spin and feel, although it may fall short as far as "pop" goes. It's also more of a baseliner stick although it's no slouch for serve and volley as well. They're out of production, of course, but can often be found on ****. You might want to check out this thread:
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=40252&highlight=280
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=40252&highlight=280
supersmash
Semi-Pro
if your kid is that good, why not the n six-one's?
Wilson wouldn't accommodate us...
The nSIx-One is a bit heavier at 12.2 oz. vs. 11.6 oz. Also, Prince was kind enough to send us a free demo to use and play around with string options. The Wilson head of junior promotions told us that he would send us a demo (my son was a Wilson preferred player in 2003) when we met him at the Easter Bowl. However when I emailed him, he suggested that I find one locally! Around here, they charge $5/day and they don't want you to changed strings. I wanted a demo for one week to run it through lessons and match play. Wilson wouldn't accommodate us although my son is top 50 nationally 14's. Their arrogance was remarkably different from the accomodating Prince rep. Volkl was nice enough to explain that their demos were all out and suggested that it would be quicker locally. I explained to GUT REACTION, a local shop that Volkl sent us but they refused to loan us a demo without charging. We found it elsewhere. He played with the Flexpoint Radical for a half hour. Then again, when my son demo-ed the O3, he loved it so much that we chose to work with Prince.
The nSIx-One is a bit heavier at 12.2 oz. vs. 11.6 oz. Also, Prince was kind enough to send us a free demo to use and play around with string options. The Wilson head of junior promotions told us that he would send us a demo (my son was a Wilson preferred player in 2003) when we met him at the Easter Bowl. However when I emailed him, he suggested that I find one locally! Around here, they charge $5/day and they don't want you to changed strings. I wanted a demo for one week to run it through lessons and match play. Wilson wouldn't accommodate us although my son is top 50 nationally 14's. Their arrogance was remarkably different from the accomodating Prince rep. Volkl was nice enough to explain that their demos were all out and suggested that it would be quicker locally. I explained to GUT REACTION, a local shop that Volkl sent us but they refused to loan us a demo without charging. We found it elsewhere. He played with the Flexpoint Radical for a half hour. Then again, when my son demo-ed the O3, he loved it so much that we chose to work with Prince.
Exile
Professional
Well if he is looking for those kinds of things, then go for lm rad mp or i.rad mp
If that doesn't work, for christ's sake get him a good prostaff.
If he really does have an all court game, then give him traditional style rackets.
But the V10 mid is pretty good for that kind of thing too so is v9
take a bunch of players rackets and demo them, that is the only way to help.
I'm talking about a few weeks at a time, play a few matches and work with it.
If that doesn't work, for christ's sake get him a good prostaff.
If he really does have an all court game, then give him traditional style rackets.
But the V10 mid is pretty good for that kind of thing too so is v9
take a bunch of players rackets and demo them, that is the only way to help.
I'm talking about a few weeks at a time, play a few matches and work with it.
Exile, like mido knows, it's really up to the individual payer to choose his own racquet. As parents all we should do is avail him the opportunity to try them and act as a sounding board to their likes and dislikes. He has a one-handed backhand so 12.2 oz is too much to wield at at his current 5'6" frame. All the ProStaffs are too heavy except for his old 7.1 Zone. I loved the Volkl Tour 10 MP V-engine, but he didn't. He didn't like the 9V either, too tweenerish. His 6' brother wields the Tour 90 which is a club. On the other hand, the O3 Tour is very manuverable and is a great volleying racquet. His one-hander is lethal with it, his FH has more spin/action and his serves are hugh with his 2nd with hugh kick and action. Who are we to say, "try aother player's racquet?" The O3 Tour IS a player's racquet albeit the head size is 5 sq. inches too large for my personal liking. Although it appears large, it is only 2 sq. inches larger than the LM Prestige. His pro was trying to get him to switch to the Flexpoint Radical but he loves the O3 Tour and will stay with it.
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